Does your work plan pay for travel vaccines?
OHIP does not pay for travel vaccines or the travel consult. A workplace health plan or a health spending account might, and checking takes about five minutes. Here is what to look for, which receipts to ask for, and how to claim.
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Book a virtual consultBefore you pay: 4 things to know
OHIP won't pay for it
Ontario's health insurance regulation excludes any service or treatment, including immunization or giving a drug, that is provided only because you are travelling to a country outside Canada. That covers travel vaccines and the pre-travel consultation.
Source (checked ): Ontario Regulation 552 (Health Insurance Act), s. 24 (1), para. 25
A health spending account can cover both
The Canada Revenue Agency lists a doctor's medical services, and vaccines a doctor prescribes, as eligible medical expenses. Health spending accounts are set up under CRA's rules for plans that pay medical expenses, so they can cover the consult and the vaccines. Your plan administrator has the final say.
Sources (checked ): Canada Revenue Agency, eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199) · Canada Revenue Agency, medical expenses paid under a private health services plan
Ask for the right receipts
CRA says a receipt must show who was paid. From the pharmacy, ask for the prescription receipt, which lists each drug's DIN: the 8-digit Drug Identification Number Health Canada assigns to every drug product sold in Canada. From the clinic, ask for an itemized receipt for the consult.
Sources (checked ): Canada Revenue Agency, eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199) · Health Canada, Drug Identification Number (DIN)
Whatever's left can go on your taxes
CRA lists vaccines and prescription drugs as eligible medical expenses when they are prescribed, and you can claim the part that no plan reimbursed on your tax return (lines 33099 and 33199). Keep the prescription and the receipts.
Source (checked ): Canada Revenue Agency, eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199)
How to claim, step by step
Check your plan before you book
Open your plan's app or benefits booklet and search for 'vaccine', 'immunization', 'travel' and 'health spending account'. Look under the drug benefit too. Plans differ: some cover vaccines a doctor prescribes, some leave out travel vaccines, and some set a yearly limit.
Ask three questions
Does the plan need a prescription for the vaccines? Does it pay a physician's consult fee that OHIP does not cover? Can the pharmacy bill the plan directly at the counter, or do you pay and claim?
Get the paperwork when you pay
Keep the prescription, the pharmacy's prescription receipt with each DIN, and an itemized receipt for the consult that names the clinic, the physician, the date, the service and the amount.
Source (checked ): Canada Revenue Agency, eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199)
Submit the claim
Claim in your plan's app or by mail. Send what the drug benefit did not pay, and the consult, to your health spending account if you have one. If a spouse's plan also covers you, ask that plan about the rest.
Keep the receipts for tax time
Any part no plan paid can count toward the medical expense tax credit on lines 33099 and 33199 of your return.
Source (checked ): Canada Revenue Agency, eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199)
What we can and can't tell you
We do not know the details of your plan, and no clinic can promise what an insurer will pay. Our consult fee and every vaccine and malaria-pill price are on one page, so you can check your plan against real numbers before you book.
What it costs, and what your plan may pay
Ready to book?
A virtual consultation with a licensed physician, from anywhere in Ontario. Ask for itemized receipts for your plan when you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Does OHIP cover travel vaccines?
No. Ontario's health insurance regulation (Regulation 552, s. 24 (1), para. 25) excludes any service or treatment, including immunization, given only because you are travelling to a country outside Canada.
Is a travel health consultation covered by OHIP?
No. The same exclusion covers a consultation given only because you are travelling outside Canada.
Do workplace benefits cover travel vaccines?
Some plans do. Plans differ: some cover vaccines a doctor prescribes, some leave out travel vaccines, and some set a yearly limit. Search your plan's app or booklet for 'vaccine', 'immunization' and 'travel', or ask your plan.
Can I use a health spending account for travel vaccines?
It can cover them. The Canada Revenue Agency lists vaccines a doctor prescribes, and a doctor's medical services, as medical expenses, and health spending accounts are set up under CRA's rules for plans that pay medical expenses. Your plan administrator decides what your account pays.
Can I claim travel vaccines on my taxes?
If no plan paid for them, they can count toward the medical expense tax credit: CRA lists vaccines (with a prescription) and a doctor's medical services as eligible medical expenses. You can only claim the part that no plan reimbursed.
Is the yellow fever vaccine covered by insurance?
That depends on your plan. The vaccine is given only at Government of Canada designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres, which set their own fees, so ask the centre for an itemized receipt and check your plan's vaccine coverage. The Virtual Travel Clinic does not give the yellow fever vaccine.
See also: The yellow fever certificate (ICVP) and where to get it
What receipt do I need for an insurance claim?
For vaccines and pills, the pharmacy's prescription receipt, which lists each drug's DIN. For the consult, an itemized receipt naming the clinic, the physician, the date, the service and the amount paid. CRA requires receipts to show who was paid.
This page is general information drawn from the government sources linked beside each point, as of the dates shown. It is not medical advice for you. Your own plan depends on your health, your itinerary and the advice in force when you travel, and a consultation with a physician is required before any prescription. For an emergency, call 911.